Toll Road Firm Says Suit Will Hurt Taxpayers

Operators of the controversial 91 Express Lanes charged Tuesday that a Riverside County lawsuit against the tollway will cost taxpayers millions of dollars and delay any solution to the notorious Riverside Freeway congestion until the next decade.

“Riverside County officials have made it clear that they are unwilling to support the search for solutions to congestion problems plaguing the 91 Freeway, but instead would prefer to pursue costly and unproductive litigation,” said Greg Hulsizer, general manager of California Private Transportation Co., which owns the four-lane toll road.

Hulsizer’s attack follows the state Supreme Court’s refusal to hear a company request to toss out Riverside County’s lawsuit, which challenges the toll lane operator’s franchise agreement with the California Department of Transportation.

The decision clears the way for a complex, three-part trial in San Bernardino County Superior Court, starting in November 2002. The second and third phases are tentatively scheduled for the first half of 2003.

Riverside County officials described Hulsizer’s criticism as a sign of frustration and desperation after four fruitless attempts in seven months to have a court throw out their case.

“The notion that CPTC is interested in meaningful congestion relief is hard to believe,” said Eric Garner, an attorney for Riverside County. “CPTC’s business model is based on traffic gridlock and congestion. So the more congested the 91 is, the more commuters will have to use the toll lanes.”

Riverside County alleges that a noncompetition clause effective for 35 years has precluded many improvements to the 91 Freeway, such as lane additions and other steps that could relieve congestion on the public lanes of the freeway.

They also contend that Caltrans has violated the public’s trust by allowing a private company to control a public freeway and by turning over a state-owned median to the toll lane operators without adequate payment.

The Riverside Freeway is heavily used during the morning and evening rush hours by Inland Empire commuters headed to and from work in Orange and Los Angeles counties.

If trends continue, the number of motorists from San Bernardino and Riverside counties is expected to increase from 270,000 vehicles during peak travel times to more than 400,000 by 2015.

The 10-mile-long toll lanes--two in each direction--run down the middle of the freeway from north Anaheim to the Orange County line.

Operators of the private lanes, who deny any impropriety, say the lanes are one solution to the worsening traffic jams.

Hulsizer accused Riverside County of using the lawsuit as a smoke screen to shift blame for the congestion from itself to the toll lane company.

Poor planning in Riverside County, he said, has allowed the population to grow without providing enough jobs.

Riverside County officials counter that it is Orange County that has failed to build enough affordable housing for its employment base. The lack of low-cost housing--Orange County has the highest median home prices in the region--has forced businesses to depend on workers from surrounding counties.

“There is not much substance to what CPTC is saying,” Garner said. “This is an indication of just how desperate the company has become. They tried for a quick knockout in court and they didn’t get it.”

Hulsizer predicted that the trial schedule, combined with any appeals of the Riverside case, will push any substantial improvements to the 91 Freeway into the next decade.

“Instead of litigation, taxpayers and commuters will be better served by the two parties coming together to figure out what we can do,” Hulsizer said. “Otherwise, this is going to become a legal quagmire.”

The toll lane operators contend that Riverside County officials have repeatedly backed away from recommendations contained in government studies to improve the freeway.

Hulsizer cited the county’s withdrawal of sponsorship of a Southern California Assn. of Governments study that showed improvements could be made relatively quickly on the Riverside Freeway through Corona.